The purpose of art is washing the dust of daily life off our souls. (Pablo Picasso)

Main Menu

Cathedral Notre Dame (France & Canada)

Notre Dame Cathedral (full name: Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Paris, “Our Lady of Paris”) is a beautiful cathedral on the the Île de la Cité in Paris. Begun in 1163 and mostly completed by 1250, Notre Dame is an important example of French Gothic architecture, sculpture and stained glass.

The Notre Dame Cathedral is the most popular monument in Paris and in all of France, beating even the Eiffel Tower with 13 million visitors each year. But the famous cathedral is also an active Catholic church, a place of pilgrimage, and the focal point for Catholicism in France – religious events of national significance still take place here.

Big enough to hold 4,000 worshipers and breathtaking in the richness of its interior furnishings, the Notre-Dame Basilica in Montreal is a magnificent Neo-Gothic church.

Designed in 1824 by James O’Donnell, an Irish-American Protestant architect from New York, the architect was so moved by the experience that he converted to Catholicism. Visitors to the basilica today can understand the impact.

Notre-Dame Basilica in Ottawa, Canada

Ottawa’s Roman Catholic Notre Dame Basilica is the largest and oldest church in the city, dating back to 1839.

The building has a somewhat austere exterior, but the interior is rich in color and detail. Built in Gothic style, the building is topped with a pair of slender spires and features large stained-glass windows.

Inside, the long central nave is lined with pointed Gothic arches topped with terraced galleries. The nave runs to the semi-circular sanctuary with its blue painted ceiling, ribbed vaults and carved altars.